Chapter 39: Crime Scene

In which a Grimm walks into a bar (no, this isn't the punchline of a joke), Sky realizes he's a red shirt, and Russel humors some odd theories.

Cardin checked out the walls. It was a cowardly thing to do, and it was a stalling tactic, but it was the best action he could take for now. The odds that a clue was actually hidden in one of the walls was zilch zippity zero, but what else could he do? Ren and Sky were out searching the town, and Professor Branwen was taking a peek in the surrounding forests. That meant that Cardin's options were to join Queen Nora as she interviewed the Faunus or take a look at the walls.

No, before you ask, it wasn't like that. Cardin's days of bullying Faunus, or anyone for that matter, were long passed. He wasn't avoiding the cat man or panther man or whatever the fuck he was out of disgust or fear. Kind of the opposite, really. Cardin knew that he would stare and stutter and probably say something rude around the guy if he engaged in a prolonged conversation, so he did the best thing he could – stayed away. Like he'd said, it was cowardly, but until Queen Nora and his support circle helped him get fully over his biases, it seemed like avoiding a confrontation via distancing himself from the source was the best course of action.

Well, if he was going to be a little bitch, he might as well be a competent little bitch. Those walls weren't going to inspect themselves. Cardin began to scour the planks of wood that made of the quaint tavern with a fine tooth comb.

Nice place this guy has got here. Most towns in this part of the woods or any part of the woods outside Vale tend to be shoddy and run down. They build the structures with the wood in the surrounding forests. Either the nearby trees are perfectly aged mahogany timbers or our witness is loaded with a capital L.

There weren't many decorations or anything on the walls. In a community where it was pretty much the same hundred or so people coming into the tavern, gaudy things that big cities used to attract tourists, like singing fish heads, neon signs, or artistic bric-a-brac, tended to not be a worthwhile investment. Cardin could only see a few windows, three posters advertising some new beer or something, and…

Wait a second. There actually was something.

Holy crap. Maybe it does pay to be low key racist after all.

The clue was small, just a quick thing that most folks might not have even regarded, but Cardin knew what it was instantly. He was one of the few people that it meant anything to, and this wasn't the kind of thing that Cardin would ever forget. Not after he'd twice been close enough to gargle this shit.

Droplets of pure darkness from the Grimm's eyes.

The drop was near the only entrance of the place, where the door was. If the Grimm had walked in, it's spatter could have easily hit the spot.

It really did come into this room.

Cardin noticed a second drip, this one closer to the base of the walls near the floor. He bent over to get a closer look, only to find another, and another, and…many, many more.

Cardin touched the fluid and rubbed it between his fingers. He'd been expecting a slick, oily substance, but it was more like water. Even though he'd probably been closer to the fucker than anyone (except maybe the Schnee), he couldn't put into words just how it came out of the Grimm's eyes. The words 'pour' or 'drip' didn't really cover the phenomenon, but 'ooze' made it sound thick and chunky. It was more like pulsing. A large flow would come out, then it would almost entirely stop, then another burst of the gross death juice, then it would stop. Cardin shuddered just thinking about it.

The trail of the goo was leading to the bar. Yeah, the lion dude was there, but the time for holding back out of politeness was gone. This was serious. Cardin joined his team leader as she questioned the barkeeper.

"Oh, Cardy! Mister Tukson here was just telling me how Mister Grimm behaved. According to our one and only witness, it charged in, trashed the place, grabbed at Mister T, then ran off when he pulled his trusty tri-shotgun on it. He wasn't able to line up a shot because he was so shaken, so the Grimm escaped. Then…" Nora flipped a page in her notepad. "… he called Professor Branwen because he'd heard there was no one better at exterminating the Grimm."

"Is that so?" Cardin eyed the Faunus as it polished the glass

…no, as he polished the glass. Damn, this was going to be tough.

"Girl's got the full story." The barkeep grunted without looking up. "Nothing much else I can do for you."

Cardin didn't buy it. The Grimm's trail of eye ooze went straight to the bar – no trashing the place or running around wildly. And maybe it was implicit bias, but the Faunus fellow was giving off a liar's vibe. A little voice that might or might not have been his semblance whispered in his ear to not trust Tukson's words.

Cardin patted him on the shoulder. "That sounds horrible. Let me tell you, mate, I've been there. Fucker has an iron grip."

Tukson stared at Cardin, his eyes wide. "It's attacked you?"

"Yep. Mister, you're looking at the only guy besides yourself that's been on the receiving end of its paws 'n' claws and survived. Dragged me from here to Vacuo with its tails during school's initiation, then tried to whisk me away on a field trip. Did it grab you with those tails or its hands?"

"T-Tails."

Tukson was bluffing. Cardin would bet anything on it. He pressed a little harder, hoping to score something more concrete that might convince the others. "Damn. Worst part is how rough the hairs are, right?"

"Yeah. So rough."

Got him. The Grimm's tails were smooth.

Cardin didn't know much about Faunus behaviors, but one of the only things his mom had taught him was how to spot someone's tells – a perk of being brought up by a woman who could only find solace in a casino. Fortunately, his father, who could only find solace in a bar, had taught him a different lesson that was also about to come in handy.

"Well, worry not, anim– citizen. We'll hunt it down and kill it, guaranteed."

Tukson sighed deeply. "Great."

"Say, think you could mix me a Cranberry Moonshine? Don't worry, I can pay."

The Faunus nodded and reached under the bar for the ingredients. Queen Nora slapped Cardin on the shoulder.

"Cardy! We're on a mission!"

"Don't be such a buzzkill, Nora."

Cardin prayed that Queen Nora would notice how Cardin had pointedly not used the n̶e̶r̶v̶o̶u̶s̶ ̶t̶i̶c̶ ̶d̶u̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶P̶a̶v̶l̶o̶v̶i̶a̶n̶ ̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶l̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶d̶i̶t̶i̶o̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ loving nickname with which her normally addressed her. She frowned at him and let out an irritated sigh as her arms crossed, but she let it go; Cardin silently thanked her.

"Here you go, one Cranberry Moonshine. Fifteen lien."

Cardin pulled out a thousand lien chip and placed it on the table. "Sorry, but I didn't bring my wallet and this is all I have. Think you can break it?"

"No problem."

Tukson pulled out the change from his register and handed it to Cardin. Cardin simply smiled.

"You sure do carry a lotta hundreds for a tavern owner in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, friend."

Tukson seemed to realize his mistake and pulled the change back. "Actually, keep the money. A-And the drink. It's on the house."

Cardin placed his own hand over the tavern owners, gripping his wrist. The man's free paw slipped under the counter and was there for no more than a millisecond before Magnhild was at the terrified man's throat. Queen Nora turned her frown on the Faunus and pushed him up against the back wall of the bar.

Cardin began to thumb through the lien chips. "Something about your story didn't add up. You say this Grimm wildly ran in and trashed the place, but the Grimm's goo trail is very straight and narrow, more like it walked right into the bar. You say the Grimm threatened to kill you, but I had the pleasure of speaking to our mutual friend once. He doesn't randomly hunt people like other Grimm. Actually, he protects one. You said it grabbed you, but I know for a fact you lied. This Grimm's fur isn't rough at all. You say a fucking shotgun scared it away. It has aura. No gun in the world would scare it."

"No, I swear, the Grimm–"

Queen Nora pressed her hammer closer to the man. "Who hired you? Why do all this? No more lies, mister!"

Cardin was pretty sure he'd figure it out. "It's about Branwen, isn't it?"

Tukson gulped. Bingo.

"Ruby and Yang mention him on occasion, and how his team was some sort of legendary hunters that did private missions for the headmaster. Here's what I'm thinking. You have some niece or nephew at Beacon who told you about the talking Grimm, or maybe you just hear about it on the grapevine. Some high paying client, an enemy of the Ozpin or a rival of Branwen, offers you a boatload of dough to off our teach, and you figure that only a dangerous Grimm monster would lure a huntsman of his caliber this far out into the sticks. You take what little you know about the mega-Grimm and fake a crime scene. A few drops of colored water hastily splashed here and there, concoct a wild story about nearly dying to it, play the bedraggled bartended in need of a master-class Beacon huntsman…and then our dusty old crow flies all this way out into your trap, waiting to be sprung."

Queen Nora smiled, and Cardin's heart fluttered. "Clever little squire."

"I try."

Tukson didn't speak for a minute, and then he did something completely unexpected. The bastard laughed. "That's what you think? That this is some wild conspiracy to kill some asshat huntsman? HA!"

What? It wasn't that? But…no, he had to be fucking with them.

Cardin looked him over. Tukson was telling the truth – none of the telltale signs of bluffing, and that liar's vibe and/or semblance was gone. Cardin had been so sure he'd cracked the case…

"Where'd you get the money, then?" demanded Queen Nora.

"Amnesty. I want a promise of amnesty from Vale."

"Granted," said Cardin. It was bullshit – Cardin had no authority to pardon crimes, but if it got the man talking, he'd promise the guy a knighthood from the dead Valean King's next of kin.

"You were about a quarter right, giganto. Your magic Grimm walked into my bar and bought a drink. It wore a hood and talked, so I thought it was a Faunus with hairy hands and claws, like mine. It told me that…well…"

Magnhild bit into his skin.

"It told me that it wanted me to pass a message on to Qrow Branwen. It needed him to come out here."

Cardin's teeth flashed. "Dust yeah, it is about the old man! I called it!"

Queen Nora glared at him.

"…and that's truly terrible. How awful that they're trying to kill our teacher." He nervously swallowed. "Anyways, why you? Why here?"

"I…I'm a former member of the White Fang."

Cardin's hand went to his mace on instinct, but he held off. Queen Nora had the man pinned. There was no danger from this creep.

"And?"

"It wanted me to send the message since it was worried about spies in the White Fang hearing. Since I know all of the Fang's agents and typical tactics, I could contact Branwen without getting their attention. This Grimm thing, it really didn't want the Fang to know it was gunning for Branwen."

Why would a sentient Grimm want to avoid the White Fang? Both were dedicated to destroying humanity. Dust, they should be working together.

Queen Nora collapsed her hammer into launcher form. "Grab your drink, Cardin. We're leaving."

"But our mission–"

"The only advantage we had was the element of surprise. It seems that we never really had that; the Grimm did. We've walked right into a trap made to kill the Professor."

The pair exited the bar, Cardin just barely managing to gulp down his Cranberry Moonshine and throw the glass onto a table near the door. Queen Nora shot a grenade straight into the sky as a flare for the remaining Castles and Professor Branwen.

"I nearly had it," Cardin grumbled to himself. "I saw that the guy was lying. That counts for something, right?"

"You did great, Cardy. I'm proud of you." Nora reached up on her tippy-toes to peck him on the cheek.

The Grimm was trying to hide from Faunus terrorists. What possible reason could it…actually, I think I'll leave this one to the thinking brigade. Sky and Ren are smart or something; they can figure it out. My sleuthing days are done.

Somehow, despite being in the woods, the teacher made it to their location first.

"What's–"

"Sir, it was a setup. There was no random Grimm encounter– it came here, but only to trick us into following it. We fell for a trap, hook, line, and sinker. The Grimm planned it all out, to get you to come here."

Sky and Ren came towards them running. Cardin's partner was carrying a dress, and Ren had a some…was that…was that bleach? Weirdos.

"What's with the dress?" asked Queen Nora.

"It's for Ren," answered Sky.

Cardin groaned. "Guys, please save your kinks for when we're not on a dangerous mission."

"Wha–"

"Ren, please hand me the bottle. I've just imagined Sky doing you in dress, and I need to pour bleach into my eyes to blind myself. Actually, I'll just drink it to kill myself – that's more guaranteed."

Queen Nora took charge. "Drinking bleach will have to wait," she barked decisively. "We need to get out of here. Mister Grimm has us right where he wants us. A surprise attack isn't going to work."

Sky's lips curled into a shit-eating smile. "Oh, would you look at that? A surprise attack isn't a valid strategy? Who would have known?"

"Escape to the bullheard now, gloat later," Branwen snarled. He broke into a run, but Sky grabbed his arm.

"Oh, we're not going to run," announced the boy. "You see, dear Castles, I've been cooking up a few strategies of my own, and I think you'll be interested to hear them."

"Have you ever shot someone before breakfast, just to work up an appetite?"

"No."

"Have you ever had to sleep inside a horse's corpse to stay warm at night?"

"No.

"Have you ever jumped out of a moving car just before it crashed?"

"No."

"Have you ever–"

"No."

"You didn't even hear what I was going to ask."

"Were you going to ask if I ever walked away from an explosion without looking back?"

"…no."

The hooded girl grated on Hazel's nerves. He'd always had a low opinion of hunters, with their flashy faux-hero capes and over-the-top mech-shifting weapons. They were fools who relished in the spotlight their roles brought them while failing to protect the people who needed them most. Villages burned while tournaments were held. Innocent lives were lost to Grimm and bandits while hunters demanded truckloads of lien for protection. Faunus died by the thousands, and hunters chose to prevent damage to human's property just one lane over.

The worst of it all was the schools. Children, actual children, were sent on 'training missions' against live Grimm. Ozpin had thrown his sister and her year into a forest while smugly promising to not intervene if they needed help. Everyone watched the Vytal Festival and laughed and cheered and sang to the tales that the councils reassured them were true. If only they cared as much about the 3% casualty rate of the academies. A record low, they called it.

A record low number of teenage corpses.

And now Hazel was working for the man in charge of it all. Doing favors and babysitting for that bastard…

Hazel unclenched his teeth. Be that as it may, none of that was Ruby Rose's personal fault. She was a victim of the headmaster, and while idealism may have blinded her, but it would be hypocritical of Hazel to bear ill will against her while claiming to be offended on her behalf. Gretchen would never let him hear the end of it.

He decided to give her something, if only to silence the babble that poured from her mouth. "Suffice it to say, I've had my fair share of tussles."

"Like the mushroom?"

"Those are truffles," corrected the black one.

"Like the sprout?"

"Those are brussels," corrected the yellow one.

"Like the Thrush?"

"Those are Russels," corrected the white one. Hazel knew their names, he just actively refused to use them.

Gretchen called for their attention, and the girls gathered around her. Their party was presently in the Central Hub, the ring at the back of Mountain Glenn that connected the three lanes.

"Alright, tykes. Listen up. Doctor Oobleck's mission was to flush out the new leader of the Valean criminal underground by hunting her subordinates. In his final report before his untimely death, the Doc said he was following master thief Roman Torchwick and his henchwoman, codenamed Pint Size, in the Mistral Triangle."

"Oh, that was it!" red burst in. "It was on the tip of my tongue."

"What?"

"Roman Torchwick. I couldn't remember his name. He's the guy I arrested to get into Beacon! Him and four weird guys on the cutting edge of weird fashion."

The deputy exchanged a glance with his Sheriff. Gretch placed a hand on her hip. "You arrested Torchwick?"

"Yeah."

"That's why she's in Beacon at fifteen," said yellow.

Gretchen patted red on the back, knocking the lithe reaper forward nearly a full two feet. "Well, dip my ass in ice cubes, deep fry it, and call me a popsicle. Heh, look at you – goin' around, cuttin' off grown men's dicks and shit. Maybe you kids actually will be able to help us unfuck the city."

The white one fell to the floor, eyes glazed and mouth frothing. Hazel nonverbally sympathized; Gretchen could be a bit much at times.

"So, what's our mission? Are we hunting down this criminal leader in Ore Lane?" asked black.

"You four are going with Hazel to investigate some Dust theft in Greengrocer Lane. I'm going to scope out the Triangle before I take kids in."

Red looked crestfallen. "But–"

"No buts, no sluts, no coconuts. Remember what I said about stirring up trouble." Gretchen patted the Faunus on her shoulder. "Don't worry. We're gonna let you kids take your shot at this case. I just have to show my face as Sheriff first so the bad guys know to hide the drug deals and keep the gunfights to a minimum. 'Kay?"

"M'kay."

Gretch left in the opposite direction Hazel took the kids. As he led the students to their destination, Hazel decided to take a moment to see if he could talk some sense into the girls before the world beat it into them.

"Tell me. What drives the four of you?"

The girls looked up at him in confusion. Given their height difference, Hazel couldn't help but feel like a preschool teacher with four tiny charges.

"Why did you choose to become huntresses? I only ask out of curiosity," he added when Black looked at him frantically. "I simply wish to understand with whom I am working."

White spoke first. She clearly had her words prepared…not a good sign. "As a member of the Schnee family, it is my duty to uphold our honor by proving my accomplishments on the battlefield. Furthermore, my sister is among the most decorated Atlesian specialists. I desired to demarcate myself with valor and honor as she."

Hazel nodded, but he could not approve. Becoming a huntress to imitate someone else was not a sustainable goal. At some point she would have to define who she was, not as a daughter or sister but as an individual.

Black went next. "The world needs to be changed. I've tried before, but instead of helping people…it didn't go the way I'd hoped. Coming to Beacon was the safest guarantee to do something that would put good into the world."

Her answer was quick, as though she wanted to get it out of the way, and she, like white, was wrong. It was a person's choices that defined what mark they made on the world, not their career. This Faunus believed the world's clouded preconception that huntsmen and huntresses were all noble heroes, and that becoming one was a surefire ticket to sainthood. There were corrupt and incompetent people in all walks of life, hunting included. Nevertheless, Hazel nodded.

Yellow shrugged. "I've got someone to kill."

This made Hazel raise an eyebrow. "Do you seek vengeance or justice?"

Another shrug. "Whichever."

While such devotion to murder may have seemed revolting, Hazel could not help but admire her bare honesty. She admitted her intentions with no hint of deceit or shame.

"You would do well in Mountain Glenn, girl."

Yellow smirked.

Hazel fixed his gaze on Red. "And you?"

"Whuh? Sorry, I sorta spaced out since the cool one left."

"Please don't call Gretch cool; she'll never live it down. I asked why you chose to become a huntress?"

"I didn't."

Hazel waited for her to elaborate. She did not.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Why are you at Beacon if you don't wish to follow the path of the hunt?"

"Oh, no, you've got it all wrong. I love being a huntress – it's super cool and romantic and epic – I just didn't ever choose to be one."

"Did your parents insist you become one?" Hazel's fists clenched as he gritted out the words. The nerve of some people…

"No no no no no. Mom died when I was little, and Dad hasn't ever really asked me to do…well, anything. No, I just mean that it's irresponsible not to be a huntress. I've got the semblance, the eyes, the talents. If I chose some other profession like, I dunno, a dogcatcher at the city pound or automated teller machine at a bank or something, everyone would always ask why I was wasting my abilities when I could fight Grimm. And, truth be told, I would ask myself the same thing. I love what I do, but even if I hated it, I don't think I could live with myself if I turned on the TV and saw Lisa Lavender saying that the Grimm had eaten a bunch of people and I was busy catching dogs or automatically telling machines. S'all cool though, since it worked out in the end."

The words nearly broke Hazel. This was everything he hated about hunter academies and hunting as a career.

"And what about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you become a deputy Sheriff, Hazel?"

"Gretchen needed a strong right arm in Mountain Glenn. The job needed to be done."

"Oh, just like me!"

"No. Nothing like you. You were pressured to bear a dangerous burden for which you are barely ready by societal expectations of intrinsic responsibility based on innate talent."

Red pointed at him. "And you were pressure by your sister!"

"Never mind. We're here."

Black inspected the dwelling at which they'd arrived. "Thought you said we'd be investigating Dust robberies. This is a house."

"Aye. We're meeting an informant. He and I have a little deal; I let him live in this old shed rent-free, and he keeps his ear to the ground for me. Real estate's hard to come by in an indoor city."

Hazel gave the rickety door two knocks then stepped back. The door opened just a crack, and four pairs of jet black eyes peered out. They narrowed at the sight of the girls.

Hazel quickly placed himself between the informant and the children. "It's me. I'm just here for a little information. It's time to 'pay the rent,' Toby."

"You'll get your rent when you fix this damn door!"

A spider Faunus emerged from the run down house and angrily pointed towards the entrance of his residence. The rusty hinges were quite rickety and had nearly broken when Hazel knocked.

"I'm sorry about the door. I didn't mean to break it."

"You want forgiveness? Get religion," sneered Toby.

"We'll talk more about it later. I wanted to ask you about some missing Dust. More and more shipments from Secondary Pass have been stolen recently. It's only a matter of time before we lose power entirely. We've already had to cut the lights and heating in Platinum Lane at night just to make ends meet."

"Gonna cry?"

"I'll survive, but the residents are complaining about the cold nights. It's almost humorous, to hear those privileged fools whine about how tough they have it when you and your people have been rationing Dust since the Grimm attack."

A wicked grin came from Toby's chin. "Stings, doesn't it?"

Hazel nodded. "Indeed. It almost makes me wonder if this was the work of someone from these parts. They'd be killing two Nevermores with one stone – make the rich humans freeze while bringing in some extra Dust to Greengrocer Lane."

Toby shook his head. "This is…somethin' else."

"It's not to equalize the lanes? Then why steal it?" Hazel placed a meaty hand on Toby's right shoulder. "I need to know."

Toby snorted and shook himself out of the deputy's grip. "I missed the part where that's my problem." The spider Faunus turned and began to retreat into his house.

Hazel grabbed his arm again. "Toby. Do not test me."

"Take your hand off me. Now."

"I like to think I've been lenient. I've let you stay here and pay your bills. I bailed you out when you got in trouble with the boys in the Mistral Triangle. I even turned a blind eye to the little 'home pharmacy' you've been running. Tell me what I need to know."

"I'm gonna put some dirt in your eye."

Toby kicked Hazel in the stomach with all the force he could muster. The weak attack barely even moved him. Hazel wrapped his fingers around Toby's throat, lifted him off the ground, and threw him to the floor. A resounding crack could be heart echoing through the slums.

"My back! Oh, my back!"

"My patience has run out, Toby. Who took the Dust, and why?"

Toby murmured angrily but rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a fire Dust crystal. He tossed it toward Hazel, and Hazel nimbly swiped it out of the air.

Toby smirked. "Still got the moves…"

Hazel inspected the crystal, its cuts jagged and random. The faces seemed more like the result of a stress-based fracture than a laser scribe. Jacque Schnee would be an Atlesian laughingstock if his company ever put something this shoddy on the market. It wasn't refined like the shipments from Vale – this was raw Dust.

"Was this mined in Mountain Glenn?"

Toby nodded as he massaged his injured back.

Hazel stared at the crystal. "A new Dust vein? And the Faunus…"

"…now dig on this," finished Toby.

"Okay, that was a bit of a stretch," said yellow.

Hazel ignored her and returned the crystal to Toby. "You telling me that the Faunus are stealing Dust and mining it raw?"

Toby nodded.

"Why would they steal it from the trains if they've already found more in the city?" asked red.

"Raw Dust is valuable, but unless you can refine it, it's pretty much good for nothing but exploding," answered white. "You know, like you nearly did on the first day of school, Ruby. To me. What I'm trying to say is you nearly exploded me, Ruby."

How did she know so much about the properties of…oh right. Schnee.

"Then why bother mining it?" asked red.

"Because it's good for nothing but exploding," Hazel realized. "They're making a bomb to blow up Platinum Lane."

"Good riddance," growled Toby.

Schnee looked at her teammates. "Is this that 'White Fang' you guys talked about? The terrorists?"

"No, it isn't. The Fang's never had an interest in Mountain Glenn before," Hazel rambled, turning backwards to look out over the slums. "But it's hard to believe the street thieves in Greengrocer Lane did this without some coordination or backing…perhaps it would be premature to say for sure yet, either way."

Toby shrugged, indicating that he didn't know any more. Hazel dismissed him, and the spider Faunus slammed the damaged door behind him, rattling its rusted hinges once more.

"See ya, chump!"

Red shook her head. "I still don't get it. If they need to raw stuff for a bomb, then what do they need the refined Dust for?"

Hazel didn't want to terrify the children, but he knew only one reason a terrorist organization would need that much weapons grade refined Dust.

War.

Omake

Cardin: *licks Tukson* This is the taste of a liar.

Omake 2

Queen Nora: What's with the dress?

Sky: It's for Ren.

Cardin: I fucking called it. I had him pegged as a fruit when he tried to touch me on that bullhead in initiation.

Queen Nora: *eyes glowing* Did I hear someone say pegged?

Cardin, Ren, Sky, and Qrow: NO!

Next Chapter: It's Bro Time– In which Jaune casually contemplates a way to change the course of history, Ren bros it up to an impossible amount of bro, and Blake learns a bit more about her team leader's not-so-secret secrets.

Author's Notes

So, I usually don't make time a big factor (if a chapter isn't immediately continuing where the previous one left off, it's an indeterminate amount of days later), but as of right now until the end of Volume 2 (chapter 44), this is all supposed to be happening in a single day/night.

Cardin doesn't want to be racist (per his queen's orders), but he's having trouble not instinctively reacting to the Faunus with displeasure.

Nora is too busy leading Team Sausage Party to glory to have any POV, and she never will :(

If you're confused about why Toby was being weird, look up 'Bully Maguire All Scenes' on YouTube.